Abrahamic Faiths in the Middle Ages (HI-622)

This course will explore the interactions of the Christianity, Judaism, and Islam in the Middle Ages. Using primary sources and contemporary scholarship, we will trace the relationships among these different communities. In the Christian West, we will study how Jews survived as part of medieval society despite persecution and violence, and how Christians and Muslims confronted each other during the Crusades. We will also explore the way the three communities lived together in Iberia—first where Islam was the dominant power, and then after the Reconquista, when Christians ruled over communities of Jews and Muslims in Spain. We will seek to understand how theological ideas shaped but did not necessarily control individual interactions among Jews, Christians, and Muslims.